ETEC 530 - Constructivist Strategies for e-Learning

Constructivist learning strategies within the design of technology-supported learning environments

When renovating, it all comes down to colour. Coordinating the colours for a renovated space is not always easy. I got into the habit of always carrying samples with me when out looking. It comes down to choices and preferences. Main colours and accents complement and contrast with fixtures, furniture and flooring.

ETEC 530 was similar to designing a coordinated look and feel in a renovated room. Designing a constructivist learning space supported by technology requires a critical eye, a sense of balance, lots of preparation and planning, and sometimes consulting an expert to review your selections. My experience designing a constructivist online learning module was just as challenging as planning and painting when renovating. Readings from Dougiamas, Driver & Oldham, Bruffee and Novak provided the colour palette. Jonassen, Seely-Brown, and Wenger added accents to the learning.

Immediate Value

A meaningful activity described and my experience of it.

One ISTE standard focuses on designing and developing digital age learning experiences and assessments. ETEC 530 provided me with an opportunity to apply constructivist learning principles to the creation of an online-learning module. Since the focus needed to come from the real world, I chose to complete a module for the classroom management course I teach at the faculty of education. By first critically examining the course offering for constructivist experiences, I was able to match and coordinate the complementary activities with learning outcomes. (View A1.hdw.pdf document)Since I completed the module, it has been adapted further for real-time use in my Classroom Management course. The "iLearn about CM" modules can be seen HERE.

Potential Value

Specific resource from this activity and why it is useful

Applying principles of situated cognition, communities of inquiry and constructivism is a multilayering process. Designing the online module was similar to painting a room when renovating - examining all the details, preparing the space and then progressively adding primer, base coat, final coat and accent colour. When it is finished, having someone enter the space to review the work and provide feedback can be rewarding. Attending to work flow and sequence is part of the planning and finishing process. By creating the constructivist learning module, I gained valuable experience in creating an online learning space.

Applied Value

How I used this resource in my practice and what it has enabled.

By creating the online modules, I was able to provide valuable resources and information to students at the Faculty of Education about the application of concept mapping to their personal learning and teaching practice. When creating the modules, I incorporated the Driver and Oldham framework - orientation, elicitation, restructuring, application, review. Each module followed a similar sequence - preparation, activation, exploration, transformation and consolidation. Creating these online modules has enabled me to see the potential of providing a variety of open, online resources to engage students in concepts, materials and practices that support face-to-face classroom discussion.

Realized Value

Personal and organizational affect and success resulting from the activity and artifacts.

As an organization, the online modules has resulted in students who are deeply engaged in learning and applying concept mapping. They frequently mention the resources found online as they incorporate concept mapping into their teaching practice. Personally, the success I achieved by creating the online modules is found in the adoption of concept mapping within all eight cohorts at the faculty of education in the classroom management course. Each instructor was able to access, understand, use and apply concept mapping to their own instructional practice by working through the concept mapping elements in the 'Maps for the Trip' module in the iLearn about CM online learning space.

Reframed Value

New definition of success

Designing meaningful and authentic learning spaces for my own students is part of my success as an instructor. Opening the learning space for others in similar fields of endeavour, within a collaborative community of inquiry, is a measure of success beyond one individual. From the ETEC 530 experience, I was able to renovate my beliefs and perceptions of what effective, constructivist learning modules look like, sound like and feel like. The rewards may not be evident immediately, or even be extrinsic, but the shift happens. When it does, it feels as rewarding as finishing the painting in a newly renovated room, ready for the grand reveal!

New Tools

Vista learning management system

Cmap concept mapping software

This was my first experience using VISTA as the learning management systems. It was challenging at first to navigate and locate information within this tool, but it became easier with practice and collaboration. I challenged myself to move beyond VUE as a concept mapping tool and found CMap to have affordances not integrated into VUE. Both tools will become standard applications in my tech toolbox.

New Skills

project management

work flow

situated and authentic learning

Designing and creating an online constructivist learning space requires diligence to detail, accurate schedules and work flow planning, an investigative inquiry into the subject matter and an understanding of the needs of the learners. Applying Garrison, Anderson and Archer's community of inquiry model helped establish my skills in construction, constructivism and constructing my own knowledge.